Spent another fantastic day at the semi-annual, star-studded Chiller Theatre in Parsippany, NJ. This time, I was honored to meet actors Ed Begley, Jr., Nicholas Lea, Steven Weber, Raj Singh, and John Schuck. Good times!
Category Archives: Conventions
After Action Report: Monster Mania 39
Back from yet another Monster Mania Horror Convention and Autograph Show in Cherry Hill, NJ. My wife and I have been attending Monster Mania’s semi-annual cons for many years. We watched it grow from a small horror convention with a few guests to an extravaganza with several major headliners.
This year included Tim Curry, John Carpenter, Sean Astin, Joe Pantoliano, Kathleen Turner, Ally Sheedy, Richard Dreyfuss, and many more. Since I’d seen Richard Dreyfuss and Joe Pantoliano before–and was not about to deal with the lines for Tim Curry or John Carpenter–I focused on Sean Astin (Lord of the Rings, Goonies, Stranger Things 2, etc.), Kathleen Turner (Romancing the Stone, Jewel of the Nile, Peggy Sue Got Married, etc.), and Ally Sheedy (St. Elmo’s Fire, The Breakfast Club, Short Circuit, etc.).
While I was able to have my photo taken with Ally Sheedy and Kathleen Turner, there were no photos allowed with Sean Astin at his autograph table. Nevertheless, all three stars were wonderful to the fans, taking the time to chat and even give hugs! All told, it was a fantastic day despite the intense crowd, one of the largest in the convention’s history. It probably rivaled the March 2017 con, when John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale were the headliners.
After Action Report: Farpoint 25
Just returned home from the 25th annual Farpoint SF convention in Hunt Valley, MD and I am proud to say that I’ve been attending since day one waaaaay back in 1993 when I first met the convention’s co-founder and fellow writer, Steven H. Wilson.
We struck up a friendship that has only become stronger over the years since both of my novels and our Middle of Eternity anthology series were all published under Steve’s imprint, Firebringer Press. In fact, we have more books coming soon as we discussed during our Saturday morning panel along with fellow Firebringer writers Susanna Reilly, Michael Critzer, Diane Baron, Daniel Patrick (Renfield) Corcoran, and our layout specialist, Ethan Wilson.
In its early days, Farpoint sponsored a short story contest. My first submission was in 1995 when I entered a Star Trek story and took second place after a tie-breaker. The contest faded away through the decades until this year, when author track manager Steve Lesnik resurrected it. This time around, entries had to be 2,500 words or less and be based on a common photograph taken by Steve during his trip to Europe. No details about the origin of the photo were divulged, but I happened to recognize it.
I am ecstatic to report that, once again after a tie-breaker, I took second place for my post-WWII short story, “All That Matters is What You Believe.”
Now that the contest is over, I can dish the details. Click here to read the stories from the contest! Not sure how long the link will remain up. There were 13 entries total. Mine is #12: “All That Matters Is What You Believe.” First place winner was #4: “Splitting Arrows” by Eric Bakutis and Third Place was #6: “Hillfolk” by Aaron Rosenberg. All three of our stories will be printed in next year’s Farpoint program book.
As for the rest of the convention, I had a great time reuniting with many friends, some of whom I only get to see twice a year at the Maryland conventions (Farpoint and Shore Leave). Many of these friends are my fellow author guests such as the aforementioned Firebringer Press writers, but also Aaron Rosenberg, Russ Colchamiro, David Mack, Heather Hutsell, Diane Baron, Howard Weinstein, Keith DeCandido, Allyn Gibson, and many more!
The celebrity guests included Matt Frewer (Max Headroom, Timeless, Orphan Black, Watchmen, Eureka, the list goes on), Nana Visitor (most known to SF fans as Kira from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine), Nora McLellan (Killjoys), and popular SF and Star Wars author, Timothy Zahn.
While I’ve met Ms. Visitor at many cons in the past, this was my first time meeting Matt Frewer and it was a delight. He was funny, gracious, and kind to the fans. A truly positive experience.
On Friday night, Farpoint hosted the traditional book fair for all of the published author guests. It was a great opportunity for me to catch up with many of my fellow word slingers. Below are just some of my colleague at Firebringer Press (from left to right: Steven H Wilson is chatting with a friend while Michael Critzer and Susanna Reilly smile for the camera).
Writer pal Heather Hutsell (below) was one of a few authors who had book premieres at Farpoint 25.
I actually set up at two different tables over the weekend. During the book fair (above) and on Saturday (below) where I spent about two hours at the assigned Firebringer Press table with my wife and long time convention pals Kathy and Kevin.
Of course, what SF convention would be complete without props and costumes! I’m sorry to say that while there were many fans in wonderful costumes during the convention (as always), I didn’t have an opportunity this time to take pictures. Worse, I did not feel well enough to attend the masquerade contest on Saturday night, but with credit to the photographers, here are a few of this year’s props and cosplayers…
Overall, my compliments to the Farpoint committee on a marvelous 25th anniversary celebration. Here’s to another 25 years!
Celebrating Milestones…
2018 marks two milestones for two of my favorite annual science fiction conventions in Hunt Valley, Maryland and the 25th anniversary of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, my second favorite Trek series.
Next month, Farpoint celebrates its 25th anniversary with celebrity guests Matt Frewer (Max Headroom, Orphan Black, Eureka, Timeless), Nana Visitor (Deep Space Nine), Nora McLellan (Killjoys), and Hugo award-winning author Timothy Zahn.
Additional writer guests include Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Howard Weinstein, Robert Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg, David Mack, Keith RA DeCandido, Heather Hutsell, Dave Galanter, Steven H. Wilson, Mary Fan, Phil Giunta (hey, that’s me!) and more…
In July, Shore Leave celebrates 40 years with the return of William Shatner as well as Deep Space Nine cast members Chase Masterson and Aron Eisenberg. From Dark Matter, Melissa O’Neil and Alex Mallari, Jr. will also join us.
Writer guests include many of the same from Farpoint including Peter David, Michael Jan Friedman, Howard Weinstein, Robert Greenberger, Aaron Rosenberg, David Mack, Keith RA DeCandido, Heather Hutsell, Steven H. Wilson, Mary Fan, Dave Galanter, Phil Giunta (hey, that’s me again!) as well as Dayton Ward, Lorraine Anderson, Scott Pearson and more.
So far, 2018 is shaping up to be a great year! Keep an eye on my Upcoming Events page for updates on these and other conventions and author events.
After Action Report: Chiller Theatre
The interminable rain did nothing to dampen our spirits at the semi-annual Chiller Theatre convention in Parsippany, NJ today. I drove to the con with long time friend, Kevin Miles.
As usual, nearly 100 celebrities turned out, but there were only three on my list and one (Ed Begley, Jr.) cancelled just two days prior. Still, my main reason for attending was Michael Des Barres, perhaps best known as Murdoc, the charismatic, eccentric assassin on the original MacGyver, and Lou Diamond Phillips who requires no introduction, but is currently starring in the hit TV series Longmire.
I also managed to snag up two more Star Wars figures I’d been looking to add to my collection. We finished the day with lunch at the Clinton Station Diner on the way home.
A Star-Studded Monster Mania 37
It was the perfect day for a drive to Cherry Hill, NJ for the semi-annual Monster Mania horror convention. This particular show was their 37th and certainly one of their most star-studded with such celebs as Val Kilmer, Kate Beckinsale, Peter Weller, Daphne Zuniga, Jennifer Carpenter, Chris Kattan, Ke Huy Quan, Jeffrey Combs, Stephen McHattie, and oh-so-many more.
On my list were Kilmer, Weller, Quan, Carpenter, and McHattie. I was not able to have my photo taken with Mr. Weller or Mr. Kilmer this time around. However, I did meet Mr. Kilmer about eight years ago at a comic con in NYC where I did have my photo taken with him. As for Mr. Weller, maybe next time.
Happily, I was able to pose for photos with Jennifer Carpenter (Dexter, Exorcism of Emily Rose), Stephen McHattie (character actor from just about every TV show), and Ke Huy Quan (Goonies, Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom) at their autograph tables.
My wife and I then roamed the dealer room and stopped to chat with artist friend Michael Riehl and his wife Kate Phillip Riehl at their traditional spot in the room where Mike’s hand-painted ornaments depicting characters and vehicles from TV and movies never fail to draw eager attention from the fans.
The crowd was not as intolerable as I had originally anticipated given the caliber of stars signing at this con. All told, it was a wonderful day for my wife and I to spend with friends, fellow fans, and celebrities. Onto the next!
